Hair clipping machines with a device for adjusting the length of the cut are disclosed in, for example, DE 33 10 706 C2. These hair clipping machines include a cutting assembly consisting of a fixed clipping comb and a clipping blade that can be driven in an oscillatory motion parallel to the front edge, i.e., in a transverse direction. The clipping blade has a fork-shaped catch which engages with an eccentric pin of the drive motor.
The underside of the clipping comb has a beveled contour. The length of the cut is adjusted by moving the clipping blade with respect to the front edge of the clipping comb in the longitudinal direction. For this purpose, an actuating element in the form of a slider is provided which is supported in the housing. The actuating element acts on the clipping blade through gear teeth. A displacement of the actuating element therefore causes a displacement of the clipping blade in the longitudinal direction.
This mechanism for displacing the clipping blade to adjust the desired length of the cut can be quite complex. In particular, the coupling element, which converts the displacement of the slider, which is supported in the housing, into the desired longitudinal displacement of the clipping blade, has to be carefully constructed.
The German patent DE-PS 814 117, which form a basis for the present invention, describes a hair clipping machine, wherein the device for changing the length of the cut is greatly simplified. The device for adjusting the length of the cut includes a carriage which is supported for longitudinal movement relative to the clipping comb and to which the clipping blade is secured. The device also includes an adjustment lever effecting the carriage and positioning the carriage between two end positions. The assembly of the cutting assembly and the device for adjusting the length of the cut, however, requires that all components be connected to the housing of the hair clipping machine, which can become quite complicated. This applies in particular to the support of the adjustment lever on the housing. According to a first embodiment described in the above-referenced patent, the adjustment lever is supported by a bolt of a tightening screw which holds the entire machine together at the center. In other words, all components have to be inserted sequentially and separately, until they can be secured with the tightening screw. According to another embodiment described in the above-referenced patent, the adjustment lever may be supported by an axial bolt which extends completely through the housing.
Another type of cutting assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,774,046 wherein a knurled screw is used to displace the clipping comb relative to a base plate. The base plate is screwed to the housing. A clearance is provided between the clipping comb which is movably supported in the housing, and the housing section located above the comb to receive the clipping blade which can be driven with an oscillatory motion. The support of the clipping blade is very important, since the clipping blade is essentially merely inserted between the clipping comb and the housing and guided by the drive pin of the motor.
JP 54-54757 discloses an improved arrangement for guiding a clipping blade with respect to a fixed clipping comb. Supporting blocks are provided in the region of the clipping comb. Each of the supporting blocks receives a respective spring element which is attached to the cutting blade. The spring elements are designed so that the clipping blade can oscillate freely transversely to the clipping comb, while being biased against the clipping comb . With this arrangement, however, the length of the cut cannot be adjusted, since the cutting blade has a fixed axial position with respect to the clipping comb.
It is therefore an object of the invention to improve the hair clipping machine of the type described above so as to eliminate the aforedescribed disadvantages. More particularly, it is an object of the invention to simplify the design and thereby also the manufacture of the device for adjusting the length of the cut.